Obesity accelerates aging: Mechanisms and therapeutic implications

Rui Zhang; Linlin Liu; Xiaoman Shi; Yanming Ren

doi:10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101980

Obesity accelerates aging: Mechanisms and therapeutic implications

Genes Dis. 2025 Dec 11;13(5):101980. doi: 10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101980. eCollection 2026 Sep.

Authors

Rui Zhang¹, Linlin Liu², Xiaoman Shi¹, Yanming Ren¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China.
² The First College of Clinical Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.

Abstract

Global aging is increasing, and both aging and age-related diseases have emerged as significant public health challenges. According to previous literature, aging is characterized by multiple hallmarks, such as systemic inflammation, telomere depletion, mitochondrial dysfunction, and others. Obesity is a chronic and complex disease. Notably, obesity can accelerate the aging process and shares several similar features with aging. Therefore, this review systematically summarizes the relationship between obesity and aging, and discusses the great potential of anti-obesity therapies in combating aging and aging-related diseases.

Keywords: Aging; Aging-related diseases; Anti-obesity therapies; Obesity; Underlying mechanisms.

Publication types

Review